My Little Monster
by SinfulFox
Summary: Post-2003 anime/movie. A homunculus becomes the center of Military attention after saving civilians and a soldier from a violent terrorist attack in central. Are Mustang and his men ready to trust one only a couple of years after the destruction caused by seven of them? And with rising tension between Amestris and a country to the north, will they have much of a choice? [OC/Havoc!]
1. My Fateful Encounter

Drawing in a long breath, the raven-haired girl inspected herself in the mirror one last time before grinning and spinning around. "Alright mom, I'm headed out!" Peeking around the corner to lay bright purple eyes on her mother, she wiggled her eyebrows for comedic effect. " _Any last words_ ~?"

With a smile, her mother leaned her head back in her chair and shook her head. "No, everything on the list should do it. Please be careful, sweetie."

"Roger that," the younger female responded playfully and headed for the front door. "Come on, Aiden," she called out as a jet-black fox darted out to take his regular spot at her side, and the two left their cozy farmhouse in the countryside, off to Central to pick up groceries and supplies.

* * *

 **MY LITTLE MONSTER**  
 _Chapter 1: My Fateful Encounter_

* * *

"Devon Cromwell, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

The 2nd Lieutenant narrowed his gaze as he took a moment to size up the new kid. Fresh out of training, his remarkably keen senses landed him right here in Roy Mustang's team. But with Colonel Mustang always keeping himself busy with something or another, it had fallen on his right-hand man Jean Havoc to take the newbie out for a spin. His head tilted slightly as he pursed his lips together, wondering what the hell kind of bullshit mission they could go on just to break the ice and dismantle the awkward silence of a nervous stranger amidst close friends. "We'll be working together from now on, so please, just Havoc is fine. Anyways, I thought maybe we could hit the streets, do a little footwork, get to know each other."

"Oh, uh, sure! Community policing tactics, right?"

"Huh?" The blonde cocked a brow, his smoking cigarette hanging carelessly from his lips.

"Community policing, you know, bonding with civilians, building up positive relations, it's supposed to be a more efficient way of deterring potential crime!"

"You don't say..." He replied, having never been bothered to feign interest in conversations when he couldn't care less. The kid seemed pretty book smart, but then again, in this line of work, the books only get you so far. "Well! You ready to go?" Without waiting for an answer, he started for the door, just hoping to find something - _anything_ \- that they could possibly bond over or talk about that didn't involve a school lesson.

"Yes, sir- I mean, Havoc, sir- I mean, Second Lieutenant- sir!" Cromwell quickly jumped forward to follow Havoc out into the hallway.

"Eh, we'll work on that."

* * *

"These patterns are so gorgeous, Mrs Taylor!" The girl said with a bright smile as she held up a large piece of fabric, hand-dyed by the shop owner. "You never cease to amaze me with all these colors you come up with!"

"Oh, Saya," the older woman cooed with a grin, "you flatter me every time you visit. How are your folks doing?"

"They're fine," Saya replied, throwing various fabrics over her shoulder as she continued to look through them, "just made a new trade agreement with a few new stores up here, so Mother wanted to indulge and make some new pretty dresses for us."

"Well you know you'll have to stop by all prettied up so I can see her work!"

"Sure thing, Mrs Taylor!"

"And I see Aiden hasn't changed much. Just as well behaved as ever."

She glanced over her shoulder to the fox, calmly waiting by the door for her to finish, his own amethyst eyes glancing up to meet her own. "Yep, he's never caused any trouble at all." After a bit more chit-chat, she'd settled on the fabrics she wanted and paid for them with the money she'd gotten from her mother. Mrs Taylor packaged them all up into a neat bundle and Saya was soon out the door and on her way again, with the fox silently trotting alongside her.

"Mommy! Mommy, look!"

The two looked up as they passed a little girl tugging on her mom's sleeve, her eyes glued to the fox. Saya gave the girl a warm smile and nodded her head towards Aiden. "He's very friendly, if you want to pet him."

The little girl's eyes widened with excitement and as soon as her mom gave her the okay, she nearly pounced on the fox, playing with his large pointed ears and ruffling the soft black fur on his head and neck. His fluffy tail flickered behind him and he leaned forward to playfully nuzzle her cheek, making her laugh. After a moment, her mom urged her to come along and thanked Saya before continuing down the sidewalk.

 _I really like when that happens.  
_ _Yeah, me too._

* * *

The daylight was quickly sinking down towards the horizon and Saya now carried several bags and packages with her as they walked down the street. Like every time, she'd accidentally spent too much time chatting with the shop owners at each of her stops and had taken up the entire day - not that she particularly minded, though. Living out in a rural countryside was quiet and peaceful but could also be dreadfully boring, and not to mention lonely. Sure, she had her parents and there was always Aiden, but they both shared this thirst for adventure that was never really quenched properly on the farm.

The two came to a brief stop as they waited for a car to drive by before crossing the street, but as they went to continue, they both stopped abruptly. Both of their heads tilted for a moment, before suddenly perking up, and they looked to each other, perfectly mirroring each other's movements.

 _Did you feel that?  
Yeah, something's not right.  
It was nearby, too.  
Should we go check it out?  
. . . Yeah. Let's go._

Crossing the street, they made another turn and began walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps it was a sound, or a smell - what it was exactly, Saya wasn't sure. But something had caused a chill down her spine, and she knew to trust her instincts.

And to trust _his_ instincts.

* * *

To 2nd Lt. Havoc's pleasure, Private Cromwell had actually seemed to loosen up pretty well after having a couple drinks. He'd shown the new kid the main routes for walking the blocks, introduced him to some prominent community members, shown him which areas were more problematic than others, even let him deal with a low-level pickpocket they caught, and finally as the day was concluding, he'd brought him to a little corner pub that offered some of the best whiskey in all of Central.

A few shots in and Cromwell had finally dropped his tense, nervous demeanor, and the two laughed and joked over some of the day's events. A few more drinks and the conversation went into more heavy topics, like why each of them had decided to join the Military, and some of the things Havoc had encountered over the last several years. It wasn't anything too groundbreaking, but Havoc felt like he'd made some progress with the newbie and was beginning to drop his initial doubts. Cromwell was young and inexperienced, but bright and quick to pick up on new things, and once he was comfortable enough, he could crack some witty jokes. He would surely fit in well with the others, once he really found his niche in the gang, but maybe it wasn't so bad after all to have someone new join the _freakshow_ , as the late Hughes used to say.

People came and went from the small pub, and the ringing of the bell as the door opened and closed had become nothing but background noise to their conversation. However, the loud _bang!_ of a **gunshot** suddenly pulled both soldiers out of their private world and into reality. Havoc's eyes darted up to a large man at the pub's entrance, the barrel of his gun still smoking as one of the employees dropped to the ground with a thud. Immediately, screams filled the air and Cromwell quickly looked over to Havoc, who had already jumped away from their table, drawing his gun and taking deadly aim at the murderer. Scrambling to join his superior, Cromwell also drew his gun, waiting for some kind of hint on what to do next.

The man grinned as several more burst in through the door with assault rifles and opened fire, spraying bullets recklessly across the pub.

"Everyone, get down!" Havoc yelled, running to take cover behind the bar. The air quickly filled up with the sounds of gunfire, shattering glass, and screams. Cromwell was close to his side, his hands shaking as he gripped his gun, tears swelling up in the corners of his widened eyes. _Shit, how the hell are we-_

Havoc never got to finish his thought.

In a panic, Cromwell sprung straight up to his feet to shoot. Before his finger could pull the trigger, blood spattered out from the back of his head and slowly he dropped to his knees, slumping down against the back of the bar. Havoc's eyes widened and everything else seemed to fade into useless obscurity. All he could see was the rookie's face, forever frozen in panic and fear, resting awkwardly against the edge of a shelf as blood bubbled up from the back of his head, a black hole etched into his forehead.

Chips of wood flew around him as the bar began to succumb under the barrage of bullets, and he knew he'd need new cover soon. Inching towards the end of the bar, he leaned around the corner and fired his gun, the thug closest to him falling to the floor. _One down,_ he thought as he quickly retreated behind the weakening structure, _maybe I can get out of this without looking like Swiss cheese_. After a moment, he heard gunfire shooting up into the roof and a series of short screams and whimpers, and realized he hadn't heard anything from the civilians since the initial panic, until now. Peeking around again, he saw the men ushering the people into the far corner, his gun aimed at the ceiling to assert control if they fought back.

This was his chance.

A thick wooden pillar near the entrance of the pub was still intact, and was only a short distance away. With the men's focus on the civilians, it was his chance to take cover before shooting back and hopefully ending this attack. Silently he darted forward, his eyes locked on that pillar. _I've got this, I can make it out ali-_

He hadn't seen the original shooter in the shadows, but he definitely heard the shots. His body stopped, his momentum throwing him forward across the floor. He felt the burning in his stomach and his uniform quickly growing wet and sticky with warm blood. He squirmed in pain, trying to draw breath but choking and spitting up blood onto the floor. The man walked over to him, each footstep feeling like approaching death, and his vision was blurring but he could see that disgusting grin as plain as day.

"Thought I saw two rats in here."

Havoc tried to sit up, the whole front of his military garb already soaked in red, his legs trying to push him back to get away from the grinning terrorist who towered over him, like a cockroach wriggling in vain as it died. Blood continued to gush out past his lips, his muscles finally giving way and he fell back against the floor, his breath erratic as he began choking again.

"Those stars on your shoulder," the man spoke with a dark chuckle, "of what value are they to you now?" Leaning forward, he pushed the tip of his gun against Havoc's head, his finger moving to the trigger.

 **"No, stop! Don't kill him!"**

The gun remained against the soldier's head, but the man quickly looked up to see a young lady standing at the open doorway, her strikingly purple eyes widened with fear. Before he could react, her panicked expression suddenly faded and she blinked before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. "Okay fine, you can kill him."

His eyes narrowed in confusion but he never got the chance to process this odd interruption before massive jaws, lined with razor sharp teeth, suddenly clamped shut over his head. With a swish and a snap, the shooter's headless body dropped, his gun clattering to the floor beside him. Havoc's own eyes widened as he stared in horror at the monstrous form looming over them, nearly twice the height of the murderer and definitely twice his bulk. It's muscular build was visible even under its inky black fur, and its purple eyes seemed to shine brightly, despite the dim lighting of the pub and Havoc's fading vision. With a snarl, the creature turned its attention to the other shooters and charged at them, inciting another wave of screams and gunfire. The girl, however, dropped to her knees at the blonde soldier's side as he coughed out another rush of blood. Looking up at her, everything else seemed to fade away.

She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen... though admittedly that may be because he was about to die.

Her skin was smooth and porcelain white, her kind eyes bright and full of life, her long black hair gently falling around her soft and feminine face. How dreadfully, tragically ironic that his last words would be to a gorgeous, potentially single girl. His bloodied lips weakly twitched into a faint smile.

"H-hey... beautiful."

A red blush swept across her cheeks and she let out a soft laugh, smiling down at him. "Don't worry, just hang in there, we'll get y-"

Mid sentence, a bullet collided with her temple, and Havoc watched the blood spurt out the other side of her head. Her hand on his shoulder, which he hadn't even felt until now, loosened its grip, her body slumping forward against him. _Nope, that right there was the tragic part_ , he thought to himself, the black edges of his vision creeping towards the center until all he could see was black.

 _"-hang in there-"  
"-hang in there-"_

Her words and her beautiful voice replayed in his mind until there was nothing left.


	2. My Hero

_"Just hang in there~"_ the soft feminine voice repeated in his head, over and over. He could almost feel her hand on his shoulder, her voice reassuring him, her face smiling down at him. He couldn't imagine having anything better on his mind until there was nothing left...

.

.

.

Havoc's eyes flicked open and he shot up, gasping for air as if he'd been drowning. Frantically he looked around, and quickly found himself confused - he was laying in a bed in the military infirmary, surrounded by a nurse and his superior, both surprised at his sudden awakening. His hands went to his stomach and he felt and prodded around, but somehow his skin was perfectly intact. There were no bandages, no dressings for gunshot wounds, no blood, no...

"Havoc! Relax, you're safe now."

Havoc looked up to see his superior and close friend, Roy Mustang, at his bedside. "But... but how?" _How in the hell am I still kickin'?_ Again he looked back down to his stomach, his hand rubbing over the infirmary gown where he knew wounds should have been. "I was shot right here... three bullets, right through... but there's no..."

"What are you talking about?" While one of his eyes was obscured with an eye-patch, Mustang's visible eye softened as he looked down to his friend. "You were hit in the head with a chair, we found you out cold on the ground when we got to the scene."

"A... chair...?" His eyes widened in growing confusion, but he still couldn't accept this story. "No, I was never...? I mean, no, I remember getting shot. Trust me I'd love to forget that, but... wait! Private Cromwell, did he-"

Mustang let out a quiet sigh and gently shook his head. "We found him with a bullet in his head. He was the only casualty, unless you count the attackers, of course."

"... Huh? What do you mean?"

"They were all dead when we arrived. And not just dead, Havoc, they were ripped apart. I'd like to say by some kind of wild animal, but I'm not familiar with anything that big, and certainly not something that big that could wander through a crowded city and not be seen by a single witness."

* * *

 **MY LITTLE MONSTER**  
 _Chapter 2: My Hero_

* * *

"Wild animal...?" Havoc's brow furrowed as he tried to remember what had happened in the attack, although it seemed his memories weren't exactly adding up to what had really happened. Could he even trust his memories at this point? "I don't think there were any animals in the pub when we..." His voice suddenly trailed off as images flickered in his mind like some deranged slideshow of horror. That creature that loomed over him, with its massive jaws that took off a man's head with a single, nasty crunch, its gleaming purple eyes and snarling muzzle.

"None of the others reported seeing an animal either-"

"-no wait, there was a... well I don't know what it was, but it looked like a wolf, like a huge fuckin' wolf."

"A... wolf?"

"Yeah, but it was standing upright like a person, and it was all black and had these crazy as hell eyes and it went to town on those guys."

"A black wolf that stood like a person?" Mustang's gaze drifted off to the side for a moment as he processed this information. Havoc was the only one who apparently saw this giant creature, but then again he also thought he'd been shot several times. "I... think you were hit in a head a little too hard."

"Mustang, I'm serious! And I was never even-" Reaching up to feel his temple, he suddenly hit a tender injury that caused a wave of sharp pain to rush through his entire head. "Ahh- shit, what the hell is that?!"

"I told you, we found you knocked out cold with that on your head and a broken chair next to you."

Havoc could definitely verify that there was a knot on his head that felt like he'd had a chair broken over him, but it still didn't make any sense. "But... wait, my uniform! Wasn't it soaked in blood?"

"Actually... yes, which is why we searched you for wounds, but never found anything. Must have been someone else's."

"Someone else's...?" The blonde growled in frustration as he flopped back against his pillow. Had he really imagined so much? He tried running through everything he could remember, to see if anything else had- _wait!_ "Mustang, the girl!" Again he sat up, regretting the sudden movement as his head pounded with pain. "There was a girl there with me, wasn't there?"

"Uh, there were several girls in the pub."

"No no, she uh, she had long black hair and pretty eyes and-" He stopped, experiencing the unpleasant image of blood spurting from her head as a bullet sped through. "She was shot, right in front of me, she was trying to help me..."

With a sigh, Mustang lay a hand on Havoc's shoulder. "How about you just get some rest, alright? I need you out of here and back on your feet as soon as possible." Grabbing his jacket from a chair in the corner of the room, he gave his friend a nod and left.

The nurse, who had remained silent during their whole interaction, moved to his side after Mustang was out of earshot. "I... didn't want to say anything but... that girl you described? It sounds like one of the girls that was at the scene when medics arrived..."

"Wait, really?" He blinked for a moment. "No way, but he said there weren't any other casualties."

"Oh no, she was perfectly alive and unhurt," the nurse said, "but she was concerned about you in particular. In fact, she insisted on coming with us, and last time I checked she was out in the lobby area waiting to hear an update on your condition."

"She... she's here? Right now? Is it... possible to talk to her?" He wasn't really sure what to believe. His memory seemed clear, but if it was accurate, he and that girl would have both been dead. Maybe he had fabricated details after he was knocked out, but he still couldn't even remember getting hit with a chair. Something was off about this whole thing, and Havoc found himself hoping that the girl would at least be the same beautiful vixen from his broken memories. With his luck, though, that wouldn't be the case; either she was super ugly and old with a snaggletooth and liver spots, or she was beautiful and happily married to some schmuck with gorgeous children and a giant house. But, then again, he was alive, and lucky to be so. That's all that really mattered... _that and if this girl actually exists and is single._ He couldn't lie to himself - that mattered to him, too, even if just a little bit.

"Of course, sir. I'll go see if she's still here, and if she is I'll bring her in."

"Alright, thanks."

* * *

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine~" Saya spoke into the public phone in the corner of the infirmary's waiting room. "Did you get everything I bought? I asked for a military official to deliver them to you while I came here with the medics."

"Yes, they brought everything over, but I'm more worried about you! They said it was a pretty bloody crime scene, I just..."

"I know, but mom we're both fine. I promise. We'll be home first thing tomorrow, alright? I think we're just gonna crash here until morning."

"Okay, just please be safe. I love you both."

"We love you, too~" With an exasperated sigh, she hung up the phone and glanced down to Aiden, who lay at her feet patiently. "I can't imagine being a mother and worrying so much all the time." Aiden looked up to her and yawned, stretching his narrow jaws before turning to the doors that lead to the patients' rooms. A couple seconds later, they opened up and a nurse walked out, looking around before spotting him and Saya. Her eyes brightened, telling him that they were the ones she was looking for.

 _Looks like we're about to get some news.  
Do you think he remembers anything?  
Only one way to find out, I suppose.  
_

The nurse quickly scampered over to them, moving in close to Saya and speaking just above a whisper. "The Second Lieutenant is finally awake," she said, nervously looking down to the fox for a brief moment before returning her attention to the other female, "and he'd like to talk to you. Seems that his memory is rather fuzzy, I think he wants to hear what you have to say, so he'll have a better idea of what happened."

"Oh, of course!" Saya nodded and agreed to follow the nurse, and the little black fox automatically followed after them.

As they traveled down the hallway, passing other nurses and visitors and doctors, Saya seemed to catch the eye of a particular soldier - his charming pretty-boy face was barely affected by the wide eye-patch he wore over his left eye. As they passed him and another soldier, they briefly made eye contact and his solid gaze never left her, even when she quickly looked the other way. There was an unsettling look in his eye, one of both dread and anger, and it made her uncomfortable.

* * *

The nurse opened the door and held it for the girl and her fox, and Havoc gazed at them with a mixture of disbelief and awe. _Holy shit, that's really her! And she's... she's just as beautiful as I remembered!_ He tried to remind himself not to get his hopes up, because that probably meant she was dating or married to an equally attractive, rich guy. They always were.

"Uh, hello there~" Saya said softly with a smile, standing at his bedside. It was that voice that had echoed in Havoc's head until he blacked out, and he was more than happy to hear it again. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, suddenly at a loss for words, "but uh... I don't, or more like I can't..."

"Remember?"

"Yeah."

"The nurse said your memory seemed pretty fuzzy."

Havoc blinked for a moment, pulling himself together. "I... thought maybe you could help me line the pieces up."

Saya gave the nurse a look, and she nodded with understanding and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Which pieces aren't lining up?" She asked, turning back to the wounded male.

"It'll sound crazy."

"I'm sure I've heard worse."

"Well, for starters, I watched you die."

Saya's eyes ever so slightly widened.

 _Of course he remembers that part.  
Doesn't look like we have much of a choice._

Havoc continued. "You were right beside me, and I watched the life fade from your eyes."

"Heh," she chuckled uneasily, "maybe you just-"

"-and another thing, I remember getting shot, myself. In the stomach. And that was right before you showed up, you and that... that _thing_."

"... thing?"

"This is probably the craziest part," he said with a slow exhale, "but there was some big... _monster_ that came in and started mauling the assailants."

As if on cue, Aiden leapt up onto the foot of the bed, calmly sitting at Havoc's feet, his fluffy tail curling around him. His eyes gazed straight into Havoc's.

 _He remembers everything, then.  
_ _There's no way we can explain it all away.  
_ _No, not this time, it seems._

"Well, sir, I can tell you one thing. You aren't crazy."

Havoc could hardly hear her, he was too focused on the small fox. Those eyes, _they were just like_...

"You _were_ shot," Saya admitted, and with a sigh she gently sat against the edge of his bed, her gaze falling to the ground. "Three times, to be exact. Two bullets into your stomach, the third grazed your lungs, probably why you had a great difficulty breathing."

"That's right, I couldn't bre- but..." His eyes widened and he sat forward, feeling his stomach again, his hands searching for signs of injury. "But where are they?!"

"And you're also right about me."

"I don't have any gunshot wounds on me at all, how can- wait, what do you mean I'm right about you?!"

"I was shot in the head shortly after finding you."

His muscles tensed up. How could she say these things so calmly?! But... if she'd truly been shot the way he remembered, how could she be right here in front of him? It was impossible... unless... _Oh fuck,_ he spat in his mind, realizing what he was staring at. "Then... you're one of _them_. You're a _homunculus_ , aren't you?!"

Saya glanced up, her eyes meeting his, and she blinked for a moment, her expression suddenly dumbfounded. "What's... a homunculus?"

 **[[ Havoc:** (._.)~ what? **]]**

The two stared at each other, confused. Havoc finally broke the silence as he quickly squeaked out, "Wait, so you aren't gonna kill me?"

"Wha- why in the world would I kill you?!"

"Because you just told me you were a homunculus?!"

"I don't know what that is!"

His lips pouted as he watched her, trying to make sense of this situation which only seemed to get more and more confusing. He knew Mustang had dealt with the homunculi before, as well as the FullMetal Alchemist, Edward Elric and his brother, but... he'd never personally encountered one. He did think he remembered something about Mustang mentioning their purple eyes, but he wasn't absolutely certain. But what else could she be?

"Look, I... I'm not sure what I am, but I heal from wounds that would kill a normal person. It was only a few seconds after getting shot that I regained consciousness. You were already out, still alive but not by much."

Havoc's eyes darted back to the fox. "So, _that's_ the monster?!"

She quickly glanced to Aiden and back. "Uh, yeah but don't worry, he's completely tame!"

"You have a funny way of defining _tame_ ," he said, before raising his hand to point at his injured head. "So then what about this?"

"... oh, uh."

.

.

 _The mutilated corpses in the dim lighting of the pub caused the scene to look particularly morbid. Several tables had been smashed in the beast's rampage as he ripped and clawed apart the terrorist attackers. The civilians in the corner, unharmed, had been lulled into a gentle slumber. The danger was finally over, and the giant creature sulked with a dull growl over to Saya, still on her knees at the blonde soldier's side. The holes in his stomach had been successfully healed and he lay there peacefully unconscious. "Wait, Aiden," she suddenly said with concern, looking over her shoulder and up to the beast above her, "won't it look strange for him to be completely unharmed in the middle of all this?! I didn't think about that! What should we do?!"  
_

 _The beast exhaled with a deep grumble as he looked around in thought, his long muscular arms then reaching out to grab an overturned chair. Lifting it above his head, he suddenly slammed it down on top of the unconscious soldier's head. Saya yelped, clasping her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened. "Aiden!"_

.

.

Saya narrowed her eyes at the fox, who blinked back at her before turning away, his ears laying flat as he let out a quiet snort. "It may have reflected badly on you," she said, trying to dress up the truth a bit, "if you'd been found unscathed in such a situation. It would have also excused your memories if you came to, yelling about monsters and undead girls."

Havoc frowned as he tried to take everything in, folding his arms and letting out a long sigh. "Well, I... I guess there's only one more question."

"Hmm?"

"Are you... seeing anyone?"

Aiden's head perked up as he turned to the other male, his ears flicking up. Saya froze, her mouth slightly agape, red heat flushing across her porcelain white skin. "Wh-what...?!"

Havoc's head lowered a bit, his own cheeks beginning to heat up. "Sorry, I just hoped- er, thought that maybe if you weren't, we co-"

With every word he spoke, her face turned a deeper red, until she jumped up to her feet, interrupting him. "Y-you're asking if I'm single?!" Her hand shot up to cover the lower half of her face in vain attempt to hide her furious blush. "What the hell is wrong with you, I'm trying to tell you I'm not human and you're worried about that?!" She flung her free arm towards him, pointing accusingly to the bandage on his head. "Aiden I told you, you hit him way too hard!"

Her strong reaction pulled a smile out of him. _God, she's cute,_ he thought, reaching out to take her outstretched hand within both of his. "Human or not, you saved my life. Please, allow me to repay you, let me take you out on a date." He then flashed her the most dazzling, charming smile he could muster.

Again she froze, her brow twitching slightly as she stared at him with disbelief, still blown away by the fact that he would make such a request. "You... must have brain damage," she finally managed to mutter, the hand at her face lowering, her voice now hardly louder than a whisper, "but... okay."

His eyes brightened and his smile widened into a grin. "Really?! I mean- could I get your number?"

Before she could respond, Aiden was at her feet, a pen and a pad of paper in his mouth. Neither of them had even noticed him jumping off the bed. "Oh, uh, thanks," she said, taking the items from the fox and jotting down the number for her parents' farmhouse and handing it to him, "and my... my name's Saya."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," he said with a playful wink, now just making her blush more to amuse himself, and after enjoying her reaction, he looked down to the fox, "and he's... Aiden, was it?"

Aiden perked up again, looking up at him with bright eyes, tilting his head to the side. To Havoc, it almost looked like the little animal was smiling.

"Jean Havoc, and it's a pleasure to meet you both~"

* * *

It was nearly sunrise when they left Havoc's room. Aiden had an extra pep in his gait, but Saya's normal bubbly personality had been burned out from the unexpected proposal she received, and was rather absent minded as they walked down the long hallway, her expression blank, though a hint of red remained at her cheeks. Perhaps it was because they were both off their guard, but a dark-haired male suddenly appeared before her and pulled her forcefully around a corner, where she recognized him as the soldier she'd seen earlier - his eye-patch was pretty hard to miss.

"And who the hell are you?" He asked with a growl, watching Saya closely, as if he was ready to rip her throat out at any given moment.

"Uh..." Her brain tried kickstarting itself back into usual functioning, her wide eyes blinking as she wondered why he could possibly be so angry. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met...?"

"Don't play dumb with me," he said with a smirk, "I know what you are. Those eyes, when I saw them earlier, I _knew_. One of my men is dead, and the other claims to have watched a girl die in front of him, one matching your description. I thought maybe he'd imagined it, but then I saw your eyes and I knew he was telling the truth."

 _Should we attack?  
No, we don't want to cause a scene.  
Besides, it's not like he can kill us.  
But how does he know about us?_

"Sir," she spoke, still unsure of how this situation would unfold, "I'm sorry for any trouble we might have caused. We didn't mean to make such a mess but we couldn't have stopped them otherwise."

The male's visible eye widened slightly, and he backed off just a bit. "So, you _were_ the one who killed the attackers."

"Me? Oh, no, that was all him~" She said with an uneasy laugh, gesturing towards the fox, who glared up at the male with a threatening snarl. "I'm just the one who fixed up Jean and kept him and the others alive... When it comes to force, I'm not much use-"

" _You_ saved him?" Again his expression turned aggressively suspicious. "But why? Why would a _homunculus_ save a human? Is this some part of a scheme to-"

"Geez, does everyone else know that word?" Saya interrupted with a sigh. "Look, we were just on our way home when we sensed something bad was about to happen. We followed our instincts and found these guys shooting up a corner pub, and couldn't just stand by and watch people die."

He continued to watch her closely. "If your intentions were good, then prove it. Go back to wherever you came from and stay there. If I see you around here again, I _will_ kill you."

The tone of his voice scared her - if he knew what she was, and knew that she could survive a bullet to the head, then how did he expect to kill her? But then again, it was starting to seem like these people knew more about what she was than she ever did. Was there really a way to kill her permanently...? Quietly she nodded to him, and he let her go, and she waited until she was further down the hall until letting out a breath she'd been holding for far too long.

 _He sounded serious - you think he could really kill us?  
I dunno, but we probably should have mentioned the date.  
Are you kidding? He doesn't need to know about that.  
So what happens when he sees us again?  
Maybe he won't see us. . .?  
Oh, he'll see us again if we start dating one of his men._

As they left the infirmary and headed home, Saya found herself wondering just what a homunculus was, and why everyone had turned so defensive.

She wasn't anything bad, was she...?


End file.
